Story of my life *sarcasm*

So, funny story - I assigned music to talk about this week, and now I'm totally blanking on what to say. *sigh* Stupid blogger's block!

I think part of the problem is that music is such a huge part of my life. My dad is a professor at the local university, teaching Music Theory, so I really can't remember a time when I wasn't involved in something musical. Some of my most annoying memories of my father are of him quizzing me on who wrote whatever piece happened to be on at the time, completely by ear. I learned how to do it pretty well eventually, and I think it helped me as a musician, but it was still annoying.

Now, as a result, my tastes run a little more to the classical (which is a misnomer btw) side. My choice for music while I'm doing anything is generally soundtrack music, mostly because it doesn't have any words to it, but also because I love what that kind of music can do to people. I find it fascinating that many, if not most, people who go to the movies hardly notice the music at all, and yet it is so influential on a subconscious level that viewing the film without any music loses the enjoyment. (Talk about an awkward sentence! I am SO sorry, I'm obviously not at my best at the moment lol) I've done some research on the subject, and I hope to do more as soon as I can find the time.

Otherwise, I'm open to pretty much anything that has a tune I could sing along with. I have a few in just about every genre that I love and will listen to millions of times over. Pretty much everything else I'm okay with until I've heard it about 15 times in a day and then I'm sick of it (sorry, pet peeve on the radio station I'm forced to listen to at work showing there).

Oh, and another thing I love? Finding a song that is just PERFECT for _______. I love realizing that a song and its lyrics exactly describe a situation I'm trying to write, or a ship/fandom that I'm in love with. If I had the talent, I would have a youtube channel full of videos of fanvids, setting clips to my favorite tracks!

There you have it! My life in music =)

P.S. If anyone is interested, the soundtrack for writing this post is "Kayla" [link to a youtube version] from the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine because I have just discovered it through my Pandora and it is SO BEAUTIFUL!

Friday, Friday... Gotta Get Down on Friday

I am glad that I got this day because I freakin' love that song. Thank you Rebecca Black. 

Erm... yes, okay. Hi!! I'm Katie, PAKt's resident Friday girl. Today I am answering questions asked by Phanee who lives on Wednesdays, so lets get on with this shall we?

1. Other than English, which languages can you speak (even at a basic communication level)? Which ones would you like to learn someday?

I am actually really terrible with languages, despite constantly trying to learn new ones. I did French for three years in high school and retained almost none of what I was taught, my Grandma who is Spanish has tried to impart some of her language on me but other than knowing how to say ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ and count to ten really quickly, nothing stuck – although I am very proud of my ability to roll my ‘R’s. When I went to Italy two summers ago I decided that I wanted to learn Italian and move there but after taking some online classes I got bored and forgot about it and, most impressively, I taught myself Chinese when I was fourteen. I was doing really well, but then a Chinese girl came to my school and when we became friends I decided to stop because I was embarrassed. So, what does all of the above mean? I only speak English.

2. Name three songs that are just stuck in your head right now!

Okay, now don’t judge me, but one of the songs I cannot get out of my head right now is ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ by Cliff Richard. Yes, I know, it’s terrible, but I was watching a Christmas chart show and it has not left my head since. For those of you who are aware of Alex Day, I have had ‘Forever Yours’ in my head since the 17^th December and have a tendency to randomly break into song with its chorus. And as I am answering this as my house is getting ready for a New Years party, I have been hearing ‘Sexy and I Know It’ by LMFAO for the past two hours, so that is very much stuck in my head right now.

3. Name your favourite film! Or maybe 2, or 3, if you really can’t decide!

Films! I LOVE films. It’s a good job you didn’t limit me to one because I do have three favourites: Life in a Day (a documentary about human life, all footage filmed on 24^th July, 2010 around the world), Pay it Forward (a film about a boy who comes up with a brilliant way to change the world – I will say no more, just watch it) and, being a girl, I love The Notebook and if you do not know what that is about then shame on you.  

4. How do you feel about all those British people who come over to Malia on holiday, drink far too much and end up dancing naked in the streets?

I have a feeling that I have spoken to Phanee about this before because otherwise this is a very random question. I am eighteen years old and English, meaning that I ought to be one of the summer Malia goers, but oh my God no. Just no. You could not pay me to go to Malia or any of those other European areas the British have decided to ruin. I like a drink as much as the next person but I despise most of the (serious) drinking culture. Each to their own I suppose, but please stop embarrassing our country by ruining these beautiful places.

5. Name one thing you absolutely hate about Facebook.

Recently, I have gotten back into Facebook after a long break  and for the first time, I actually use Facebook chat now that MSN has died a miserable death. This is where my big Facebook problem lies… chat. I am a fan of lurking in the darkness. I loved ‘appear offline’ on MSN and while you can do that on Facebook, it doesn’t allow you to see who is online, nor can you block individuals. I do not like this and it often leads to me missing out on conversations with people I do want to speak with and ending up stuck talking to people I have no interest in. 

The standard questions...

Tea/Coffee/Hot Chocolate - Hot Chocolate! Hands Down! Coffee if I have to have one of the boring ones but even then it is basically all milk and sugar. Also, fun fact, I am English and have never even tried tea.

Indoors or Outdoors - Has to be outdoors. I have a friend who I've known since I was nine and all we ever do is go for walks. I have aspirations of climbing mountains and trekking though jungles, so outdoors it is.

Cats or Dogs - I love dogs, I have had a dog, I have worked with dogs and I look after dogs, but I'm going to have to pick cats. I have had two cats and they're just so much easier to look after.

Team Zombie or Team Unicorn - Team Unicorn. They're so pretty and sparkly and their blood helps Voldy live forever.

Hot or Cold - Hot! Why would you pick cold? Anybody who says that they can put on a jumper clearly doesn't want to be cold either. Stupids. Hotter is better.

Why hello! I'm Wednesday!

Why hello! And welcome to The PAKt!!

I am Wednesday, also known as Phanee! I am 22 years old (just like Anne), but I live in a place far far away. Greece! Yep! A place where there's sunshine (and it's warm) for 8-9 months of each year... Well, no, that's not strictly true for the whole of Greece... But it's certainly true for Crete, where I live. And just so that you can get an idea, this is where it is:

Yep, it's pretty far down, right next to Africa. Which I suppose a lot of you will think is marvellous... I just think I live in the wrong country. I hate being hot and I love cold, rain and snow. So I have come to the realisation that, though I was born in the right country (England), my parents made a very wrong decision in deciding to move to Crete.

So, as you saw with Anne's post on Monday, this week we are doing interviews on the blog, to introduce ourselves and to give ourselves an easy topic to start with! Here are the questions I was given from Miss Monday (aka Anne) to answer:

1. What is your favourite thing about where you live?
Hmmmm... Now this one is a hard one... I know I rambled up above about the fact that I live in the wrong country, but Greece really is a lovely country. I would probably say that my favourite thing about Crete, where I live, is the contrast in the landscape. Crete is one of the biggest islands in the Mediterranean (and the biggest in Greece) and being an island, it is surrounded by sea. But it's also rather mountainous, with the mountains not being too far away from the sea. So, the sea is ideal for the hot summer months (and we do have some lovely beaches!), but we also have cold mountains and a bit of snow in the winter, too!
((You're probably wondering why I'm complaining, aren't you??))

2. If your house was burning, what would be the first thing you would save?
Since you said things, I am going to go with an actual "thing". The first thing I would save would definitely be my laptop. I've got everything on there! And I love it to bits!

3. What is in your pocket, RIGHT NOW? Or, if you don't have pockets what is the first thing you can pull out of your purse?
No pockets right now, so going with the purse option! Assuming that by purse you mean my handbag and not my little purse with my money in it, the first thing I can pull out of my bag is an umbrella! I have a cute little Radley umbrella with little doggies on it! It's probably the only designer thing I own! My grandmother got it as a present but never used it because of the doggies on it, so she gave it to me! I never go anywhere without an umbrella. You can guarantee that on the day that I don't take an umbrella, it's going to chuck it down. So, it just stays there permanentely!

4. What are the top 3 songs on your most played iTunes/iPod list?
Number 3 is "Mowgli's Road" by Marina & The Diamonds.
Number 2 is "Seventeen", also by Marina & The Diamonds
aaaaaaaaaand
Number 1 is "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga

Not sure what I think about that. I haven't listened to any of them in ages! But if you were to ask me songs I am loving right now, I would say "Fluorescent Adolescent" by Artcic Monkeys, "Stuck on a Puzzle" by Alex Turner, "Skinny Love" by Birdy and "Levels" by Avicii (do not ask how that last one connects to the others - it doesn't!)

5. What is your favorite meal?
Other than the fact that I love anything with potatoes in it, I do have two favourite meals - one with potatoes and the other potato-less. The first one is shepherd's pie, a traditional British meal, and the other is a Greek one called giouvetsi or kritharaki. It's basically beef with a special type of pasta baked in the oven and it's AMAZING! Here is what it looks like:

(source)

I know that one up there has chicken in it, but we always make it with beef and it's soooo good!

And now for the this or that questions we're all doing:

1. Tea/Coffee/Chocolate
Definitely chocolate! With tea at a close second! (I do not like coffee...)
2. Indoors or Outdoors
Both actually! I love going out, but I am also content with just staying at home and curling up with a good book!
3. Cats or Dogs
Ooooh! Doggies!!! I love dogs! I used to be really afraid of them, but they're just great big curly furballs!!
4. Team Zombie or Team Unicorn
Team Unicorn! Zombies are yukky...
5. Hot or Cold
Cold!! Have you not been paying attention to what I have been saying??? As I always say, you can always add more layers, but you can never taking everything off!


Tune in on Friday for Katie's anwers to my questions!